Should I feed my hens scratch or layer feed?

[Our Roost]

Winter is a time when the season changes from fall to winter the 21st of December. The leaves have turned brown and fallen and your plush green lawn was mowed for the last time ages ago. Your birds spend little time free ranging and the benefeits of scratching for natures offerings have come to a halt.
Lets take away their greens and natural grainfoods and just feed them 16 percent layer feed? Corn must be bad for chickens because its a filler? Stop feeding them corn? Obviously they need protein and nothing else. Keep in mind that feeding them greens will only make things worse? I get it now!

 

[getaclue]

Some of the wording on various feed products can be quite amusing. Purina, Manna Pro, etc. have multiple granaries throughout the country, so packaging is ordered in bulk, probably from China. The language(s) used on the instructions are not always translated perfectly, so a word here or there can be confusing. Not feeding oyster shell plainly, is a good example of that. What they are trying to convey, is not to feed oyster shell in lieu of feed. Feed is required, not just oyster shell.

Have any of you ever bought something like Manna Pro Garden Delights, and given them as a treat? There are quite a few ingredients. Dried peas, dried carrot flakes, raisins, peanuts, to name a few. Each chicken will hunt for the things they like best, avoiding the things they don't like. One will go picking out all the carrot chunks, avoiding the other ingredients in the mix. Another will pick out all the peanuts, another will search out, and eat all the peas, and so on. When they're satisfied they've eaten all of whatever their favorite is, then they move on to the less favorite ingredients. This is not a plug for buying treats, but a good example of how chickens tend to eat. Whether to treat, or not is a personal decision, but the rule of thumb is: Don't give treats too often. They can only eat so much daily, and it's best they get their fill of optimum nutrition, which treats don't provide.

We all agree that scratch alone is NOT nutritionally adequate.

Feeding a good layer feed tends to be nutritionally adequate, for the most part, including calcium. There will be times that the hens will want/need a little extra calcium. Putting a little oyster shell in a little container, or just a little handful on the ground apart from the feeder gives them the option. For the most part, they should not need it, and won't touch it, but once in awhile they will need a little extra boost of calcium. It does not have to be mixed with the feed. Remember how selective they are with the treats. They will only eat it, if and when they need it, and only the ones that need it will eat it, so it tends to be wasteful to mix it with the feed. The rooster(s) normally won't touch it either.

Some people like to feed using a flock raiser feed, instead of layer feed. That is good, but there is not as much calcium in the flock raiser, so the hens will usually need a little extra calcium to maintain a good protein/calcium balance.

Due to the constraints of the granary(ies) in my area, the feed(s) I would like to use is not available to me. For laying hens, I use a layer feed. I use a little bit of Calf-Manna, which is very high in excellent animal protein, as an occasional treat, making sure all of them get a little, not just the roosters, and hens that are higher in the pecking order. To maintain the protein/calcium balance, oyster shell is free choice. They will eat it, only if they need it.

During molt, when they need both extra protein, and calcium, I tend to up the Calf-Manna to a small amount on a daily basis, instead of the occasional treat, and keep a little more oyster shell available, along with their normal feed. They don't tend to go through as hard a molt when I do this, they resume egg laying more quickly, and grow feathers back in more rapidly. Towards the end of their molt, I resume feeding as usual.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I've seen the 'do not feed plainly'. I wasn't sure what that meant.
Didn't matter though since I knew they needed feed but not to mix the oyster.

Thanks.

 

[matt44644]

Top Soybean Producers
in 2014
(million metric tons)​

Brazil

90.0​

United States

89.5​

Argentina

52.6​

China

15.0​

India

9.8​

Paraguay

7.4​

Canada

4.3​

Uruguay

1.8​

Ukraine

1.68​

Bolivia

1.63​

World Total

249.0​

Top ten maize producers in 2013[61]
Country​

Production (tonnes)​

Note​

United States 353,699,441

China 217,730,000

Brazil 80,516,571

Argentina 32,119,211

Ukraine 30,949,550

India 23,290,000

Mexico 22,663,953

Indonesia 18,511,853

France 15,053,100

South Africa 12,365,000
World 1,016,431,783

 

[Heme]

Occasionally I give my girls greens and that may be the source of nutrients effecting egg yoke color, I never gave it a thought. I assume the folks that blend Layer Feed have balanced out the mix so it encourages healthy egg production. As for the best Brand, I have not read any comments on a preferred blend?

 

[getaclue]

Oh, I forgot to add that lighting is a key factor to laying. It's beneficial to give them a break from laying, however, there are areas, and some years that the reduced daylight is overkill. It's best to get a timer, and supplement their lighting during the morning hours. That way they can keep their normal sleep cycle at night, which is more restful for them. It doesn't take bright lighting. A 60 watt bulb is usually sufficient. Start by having the light turn on a couple hours earlier than daylight. Give it 2 - 3 days, since the response isn't always immediate. In a couple days, increase another hour, if needed. Do this until production is up. Some breeds of chickens don't require as many daylight hours to maintain good production. Don't just give away your money to the electric company, if it's not necessary.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Occasionally I give my girls greens and that may be the source of nutrients effecting egg yoke color, I never gave it a thought. I assume the folks that blend Layer Feed have balanced out the mix so it encourages healthy egg production. As for the best Brand, I have not read any comments on a preferred blend?

greens will definitely help
My yolks are much darker in the growing season as they all get to forage.
Corn adds yellow to the yolk in commercial feeds and some also include alfalfa.

The feed I use most often has alfalfa pretty high in the ingredient list.
It's organic corn, barley soy meal, alfalfa meal and oats, in that order.

 

[Chris09]

I use a little bit of Calf-Manna, which is very high in excellent animal protein, as an occasional treat, making sure all of them get a little, not just the roosters, and hens that are higher in the pecking order. To maintain the protein/calcium balance, oyster shell is free choice. They will eat it, only if they need it.

So that you know Manna Pro hasn't use animal proteins in there Calf Manna in sometime and when they did it was only whey proteins, and it isn't the best animal proteins for poultry.
Also there is really no such thing as a, "protein/calcium balance", what does need to in balance with calcium is phosphorus.

Here is what Calf Manna has in it now --
Ingredients:
Soybean meal, corn, hominy feed, feeding oatmeal, dried whey, dehydrated alfalfa meal, linseed meal, brewer’s dried yeast, vegetable oil, fenugreek seed, anise oil, calcium carbonate, monocalcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, salt, sulfur, iron oxide, ferrous carbonate, ferrous sulfate, copper oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, sodium selenite, cobalt carbonate, calcium iodate, Vitamin A supplement, Vitamin D3 supplement, Vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, thiamine mononitrate, niacin supplement, riboflavin supplement, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 supplement, folic acid, biotin.

 

[getaclue]

Chris, you are correct they have changed the formula, and no longer include animal protein, however, it's still a great protein supplement, and I have personally witnessed the difference it makes, as have many others. While I've read a lot of debates on protein/calcium balance, and some say there is no such thing, while the majority says there is, here is something to think about. When feeds are formulated, they hire nutritionists that have done extensive research, and are experts in their field. They balance fiber, protein, calcium, A,D,B vitamins to name a few. They would not incur the additional expense of hiring the services of nutritional experts, if balancing the nutritional needs in their formula for feed were not needed. In addition, a balanced diet at different stages of the life cycle often requires different formulas. While those that claim there is no such thing as protein/calcium balance, switching from grower feed, to layer feed, the formulation decreases protein, and increases calcium. I don't claim to be an expert, but the experts that the major feed mills hire, address the protein/calcium balance when formulating layer feed. Regardless of your line of thought in regards to this, the advice I offered is sound, and a good guideline for feeding. Everyone is free to choose whatever they want, for whatever reasons they want, when it comes to feeding. Feel free to offer your own feeding guidelines as well.

 

[Skunkspit]

I am a new chicken momma. Why do you give them grit? How do you puchase it? Mine are 9 months old and laying. I give them calcium separately, and layer feed with grain/seed treats in the evening. I should also add they get a hot breakfast when it is 20 or below. Oats or cornmeal.